The present invention relates to locating objects using images from portable devices, and more particularly to locating objects by reviewing images from more than one portable device of the objects against their background.
Many people lose essential objects every day. Such essential objects may include remote controls, wallets, keys, toys, books or even mobile phones. Each of these objects are easy to move and easy to lose. Often a user may pick up the object, use the object, move the object and put the object down in a different place. The different place where the object is put down is easily forgotten. A user looking for the lost object typically looks for the object at the location where they picked it up and cannot remember where they moved it to and put it down.
Known prior art discloses a system for locating lost objects that requires the attachment of a small sensor to each of the objects that it is desired to locate if they are lost. The attachment of a small sensor to each of the objects can be awkward for small items, such as keys. There are other similar solutions that focus on a physical sensor or similar attached to the object in question that it is desired to be able to find if lost.
Known prior art discloses a method for finding misplaced objects using a database and instructions generated by a portable device. Immobile objects such as doors and windows can be recognized in images from a portable device and are used to provide key position anchor locations. Less immobile objects such as tables and refrigerators serve as a secondary level of anchor framework. A target that is an object that is mobile and typically small, is imaged and scanned into a database. When an object is lost, the database is scanned for images of the object and the user is provided with directions to the target.